Nova Corps: Ain't Worth Nothing More Than A Hill
by THANOSRULES
Summary: A Nova Corps ship is ambushed on its way to the critical battle of Pericles' Crossing and the Nova survivors find themselves fighting for survival on a hostile world. Will the Titan's Fury rescue them in time? This story is a stand alone sequel to Operation: Red Dragon.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This story takes place in the Marvel Universe, approximately 20 years in the future. The Pan Galactic United Front, led by the reformed Nova Corps, fights a bitter and long intergalactic war against the hostile Badoon Empire.**

**ANDROMEDA GALAXY: Kra'karn System, 4 light years from Pericles' Crossing (Crux).**

The rocks and debris split apart on the monitor and the scanners lit up on the ship's panels.

Eros of Titan opened his eyes from a brief nap as he dozed at his station.

A light glimmer from the tiny solar system's small star shimmered off a floating wall of micro ice crystals as they drifted through space.

The outline of the dark metal craft behind the debris was unmistakable. Eros hit the reverse thrusters.

_"It's a ship!" _Eros said as he stared at the report. The red haired Titan's fingers danced through terminal screens on his station's "heads up display". His eyes flashed as he reviewed the ship scanner's data. Next to him, Nova Centurion Elijah Bradley also processed the incoming data.

"Let's have a look." Eros remarked as he flipped a switch on his terminal.

_The Titan's Fury_ activated its spotlight on the cold vessel. A thick LED stream illuminated the dark husk in space. It was not a good scene. The ship was black. No activity blinked inside. Massive carbon stains and clusters of ice crystals hugged the side of the bulwork. _The Fury's_ spotlights probed the side of the gutted vessel and looked for any clues as to what had happened. Like everything in the depths of space, the ship was dead.

The lights flashed across the numeric designator. After a few seconds, the spotlight beamed in on the charred remains of the Nova Corps emblem. Astrovik let loose a subdued sigh. The side of the ship read _The Simon Williams_.

"It's the _Williams_ for sure" Eros said as he looked at Vance Astrovik, the ships's captain and time displaced hero _extraordinaire_.

"All this ice...its got to have come from the ship." Bradley said.

"Damn" Vance said. "That's not good."

The ship's starboard hull had a huge hole in it. Debris still dribbled from the hole as it floated in the vacuum of space._Were those bodies?_ Vance wondered as he stared in the visual monitor.

"No life signs" Eros said."No power at all"

Astro gave a frown. _The Simon Williams_ had been lost prior to the battle of PC. The elite Nova destroyer known as _The Titan's Fury_ had been tasked to track down the missing light destroyer. Astro and his crew had been looking around the clock for the ship for days now. Astro had hoped the ship had just broken down somewhere on its last route. Like anything in war, it looked like a worst case scenario situation had reared its ugly head.

Everybody on the ship hoped to find the Williams quick, but nobody was hoping to see a gutted out hull float through space.

None of that mattered now. As he looked at the shattered remains of the war ship, all Astro could think about was the _ninety eight souls_ that had been aboard the ship. Now, the thing was a ghost wreck.

"Wait!" Bradley interrupted. "I have something, at least."

Astro looked down at his crew. "God, give me some good news Centurion Bradley" Astro asked.

"It's faint, I barely caught it." Centurion Bradley said as he reviewed the data on his terminal and typed the panel. "Heat trail. Some Ion particles."

"A shuttle" Astro said "An escape Shuttle."

Astro paced back and forth on the bridge, "Any chance for a navigation course? " Astro asked.

"Yep, I got it heading to that ice ball over there. Large earth sized planet, sub Artic temperatures near the western hemisphere. " Eros said. "it's not a pleasant place."

"They never are." Vance replied.

"I'm reading some pulson signature as well." Bradley said as he typed in some calculations." Shit..pulson trial comes from the same planet. Looks like the ship was hit from a blast..maybe a planet side cannon from the look of it." Bradley reported.

"Can we get a planet side grid coordinate?" Astrovik asked.

"Pulson trails don't hold up well, I'm reading patches here. Ghosts." Bradley replied as he focused on the information.

Astro raised his head and sprung into action."Scans and raise shields now." Astro said. "Comm down to weapons and have them charge the cannon and prep torpedoes"

"Too far away to tell, I'm not picking up anything. It's got a pretty robust atmosphere and debris field." Eros noted.

"Maybe former victims?" Astro said out loud. "Hmm, or maybe just on the other side of the planet with the rotation. I wonder if we lucked out." Astro remarked.

"Maybe they have not seen us yet either, this ship has got a much better stealth rating than the _Williams_." Eros said.

"Or they may have evac'd when PC fell? Not likely the Badoon would stick around. It's just an ice ball with a bargain basement atmosphere." Bradley said.

"Vance, you forget what I'm capable of, this ship's stealth engine is years ahead of the Williams. They probably have no clue we are even here." Eros replied.

"Maybe it's not Badoon? We don't have many friends in this part of Andromeda, Vance." Eros said.

"Plot a course. Keep the shields up and the scanners running. "Astro said as he hit his chair's call button to the crew bay. " Crystar, prep _The Madslashers_ for cold weather operations. Meet me in the tactical bay in twenty mikes." Astro said.

Vance looked at the white planet in the monitor. The swirling white clouds wrapped the bluish planet in a churning and violent embrace. The world looked like a giant blue slushy topped with whipped cream.

"What's it called?" Astro asked Eros.

"No name." The Titan responded."I have no record of any race exploring this system."

Astro looked deep into the monitor as he pondered his next move.


	2. Chapter 2

Rakk slumped over in the knee high snow. The Nova Corpsman tried to get a hold of his mind as his head spun. He felt like he had been unconscious for a long time, but something told him it was mere seconds. Blood ran down his face and froze on his chin. Rakk felt like he had been suddenly pulled from from a bad dream. The vision was one of those dreams where he had just been same old deal. This time it was a plane crash.

As Rakk tasted the snow and blood in his mouth, he realized he was still alive. _Maybe it hadn't been a dream?_ Pockets of fire and debris flashed all around him. He heard muffled crashing somewhere near. A turbine whirred with erratic power. He looked around. _Who the hell am I? __Where the hell am I? _Rakk's mind felt blank as he sat in the snow_._

Rakk struggled to get a grip on reality. Voices were all around him.

"Get me a D'ast LACE report now, Corpsmen!" Rakk could hear a man bark.

"Feilds and Harmon are dead. Theres a couple more out there in the snow without heads. I'm not sure who they are yet." A female replied.

Rakk heard more mumbling "I think we got a couple of ammo crates off the wreck." A voice said. "Don't go back in there."

Rakk's ears were burning but he could hear more of the fuzzy conversation around him. _The air was so damn cold._ It was like he was underwater and the voices were above him. _Was I drowning?_ People with yellow buckets on their head were scrambling around him. One of them was on fire and ran out into the white and blue snow storm as she screamed in pain.

"Jesus, we're a mess. I've got four Corpsmen with me." another male said. "Grice and Hurlburt are ok"

Rakk's eyes came into focus. He felt the rush of stims hitting his blood stream as his Nova suit injected a blood borne countermeasure to his physical problems_. _His energy surged as the adrenaline rushed in body.

His mind felt clear now_. I am Nova Corpsman Bryce Rakk_.

He looked around with frantic to asses what was going on. _A shuttle crash_. _What was left of the Simon Williams had crashed on this ice planet._

Rakk looked around more, the cold was unbearable. Rakk knew he would die in minutes if he didn't do something about the D'ast cold. He was in the smoldering remains of the Nova shuttle. A troop ship. It was facing down into the snow and half the rear was blown out. Around him, a small group of Nova Corpsmen were lying and bustling about what was left of the ship.

Rakk's mind flopped in and out of clarity. He felt the hand squeezing him on his shoulder.

"Corpsman? Corpsman?" The female voice asked. "Do you hear me? Rakk are you with me?" The female voice said as she squeezed harder.

Rakk looked up at her and nodded. She was Denarion Clair Da'al. Rakk knew she was a quartermaster from the _Williams._

Da'al handed Rakk his Nova helmet_. "Lose this?" _She said as she smiled_. _She had dried blood all over the front of her suit. A battle rifle was slung over her back. "Its colder than hell out here, might want to seal up."

Rakk took the helmet and put it on. With a "thhhwump!" of suction, the Nova helm hermetically sealed to his suit. Instantly, Rakk's eyes could visualize his internal heads up display. The image flickered and crackled with static. He immediately activated his suits life support systems and sealed off the outside.

In seconds, warmth rushed into his blood and slapped his cheeks.

Rakk saw a small group of Corpsmen talking in a cut out portion of fuselage. He followed Da'al over to where they were gathered. It was a heated discussion_._

"Pardon me sir, but we have to move ASAP, whatever hit the _Williams_ will be on us quick." Centurion Greg Bishop said to a slouching Nova centurion. Bishop was a tough as nails Cajun, he had been Rakk's squad leader. Bishop and Corpsmen Rakk were from a Nova infantry squadron that was merely hitching a ride to Pericles Crossing aboard the _Simon Williams_ when it crashed. Infantry and Navy guys never got along.

"I think we should stay here." Centurion Larkin said." This is good shelter here."

Larkin was the First Officer of the _Simon Williams_. He was a Nova Corpsmen, but from the Naval Corps. He usually didn't even wear a Nova suit. Larkin didn't know the first thing about infantry tactics and had no business calling the shots over Bishop. Rakk thought it was strange seeing Larkin in a battle suit. It was the first time Rakk had ever seen him in one. He looked awkward. Larkin was a known slug, but he was still a stickler for Nova regs, if Larkin had some sort of claim to field command, everybody knew he'd try to pull that card. Rakk had never seen him out in the field.

Everybody who knew the_ Simon Williams_ was aware the ship was _screwed_ if it ever came down to Larkin. How he even got a First Officer gig was a miracle and travesty wrapped in one. The ships Captain, Legate Hiroshi Hirada, had always been the real brains of the vessel. Hirada was surely dead now, no doubt floating in space with the rest of the lost souls and pieces of the _Simon Williams. Legate Hirada was a good man_, Rakk thought to himself.

The wind whipped like a typhoon all around the group. The tiny flakes of snow were like ball bearings as they pummeled the Corpsmen and debris. It felt like the remnants of the ship would launch off with the torrent of wind.

"With all due respect.. Larkin...this wreck is a death trap. I'm guessing we were hit by a planet side pulson battery. We can hope and wish it was some sort of static mine, but if it's like the other incidents, this was a planet stationed rocket arrary.

"I don't know that makes no sense.. the snakes hate the cold." Larkin said

"But the Chitauri don't. That means there is probably a small base here. A garrison. On a cold world like this, I'm guessing Chitauri with a few Badoon advisers. They are going to know we are here and they are going to come for us." Bishop said as he pounded into the ground with the butt of his pulse rifle.

Larkin sputtered. "w well where the hell would you have us go? There is nothing out here!"

Bishop pulled out his planning pad and brought up a holographic layout of the area. The image flickered with static and interference, but it managed to hold."Here's our last readings from the ship." He said as he isolated the area and marked it with a red icon. The topographic three dimensional image showed a rugged cluster of mountains and valleys with a large chasm.

"This hill here" He pointed to one of the medium sized mountains and marked it with a blue icon. The mountain was set aside from the more dominate ridgeline on the other side of the chasm. "Its not gonna be easy, but _we can_ get there. It has a cave system up high. Shelter and cover. Its a good spot." Bishop said.

"A good place for what? To die? I'll never make that." Larkin said.

"You can and you will. Its a good place to make a stand if we need to. Its also a good spot to get a beacon out." Larkin said.

"Yeah, we can probably get a signal up there. There's nothing down here in this gulch." Denarion Nial replied.

Bishop looked at Larkin. "Sirs, we all know your in charge, your the ranking Nova. But your Navy and I'm Infantry. I know the ground better than you. You need to flarking listen to what I have to sa.." Bishop was cut off.

"Most of these survivors are navy, I should be in charge." Larkin interrupted.

This time , Bishop just ignored him.

"How is that Mandroid armor?" Bishop asked Grice.

"It looks ok to me, It's still good to go." Denarion Francis Grice replied.

Behind the group, near a wrecked part of the ship, Rakk could see Grice and Hurlburt working on a Nova Mandroid suit. Grice was loading heavy cobalt shells into the 'droid's hand cannon.

Larkin perked up.

"That's good news, who do we have graded for Mandroid Armor?" Larkin asked.

Bishop and Grice both rolled their eyes. "Not really a big concern sir, I don't think command is going to drop by and give a damn check up. We got seven damn Novas here left out of a hundred." Bishop said in a sarcastic tone.

"Hurlburt and me are Mandroid guys." Grice answered Larkin."Worst comes to worst we could just throw someone in there to keep them warm. Its heater is a hell of a lot better than our suits. Most of us Infantry guys know how to work them anyways." Grice said to Larkin.

"Yeah great, At least one of us wont freeze to death?" Larkin said.

"Freeze to death? I'm more worried about Chitauri death squads." Bishop said.

"Its seventy five below zero out there.. in the sun." Ja'al said. Claire Ja'al was a Nova medic attached to Centurion Bishops squadron. She had been with a different squad than Rakk, but she had a reputation as a good medic.

"D'ast, I thought they said this was a terran world with a decent atmosphere?" Larkin said.

"Yeah, and they probably told you Navy men never had to leave the ship either." Bishop joked.

Larkin looked like he wanted to make a comeback remark. Instead, he just slumped over.

"Rakk? Dammit good to see you." Bishop said as he noticed the corpsman. "How you feeling, Kid?"

"I'm ok sir, Ja'al got my helmet." Rakk replied.

Bishop looked at Rakk up and down. "No rifle?"

"No sir, nothing" Rakk replied.

"Grice, tell me you have another rifle in that crate!" Bishop yelled at the men working on the Mandroid.

Grice bent over and shuffled through the box. He pulled out something and dusted it off. Seconds later, Grice threw over a standard Nova battle rifle and a bandoleer of recharge modules. Bishop caught the whole thing with one hand and handed it to Rakk. "Get it up and running , kid...but save your ammo and power. We don't have much else." Bishop said as he lowered the gun towards Rakk."When its gone, were all dead."

Bishop looked back at Larkin. It was the same way a man looked at a big mountain before he had to climb it.

"So its solved then. Get everyone together. We're moving out for that hill and the cave system in one hour. I want that Mandriod pulling up the rear. Nobody slacks behind." Bishop said to the group. "Grice, after you and Hurlburt get that Mandroid up, starting collecting the bodies and pile them up. I want a full count with ID tags." Bishop added. "Rakk, get with Ja'al and get a perimeter set up. Put the mandroid at the six o'clock. Keep your eyes peeled." Bishop said with a wink.

Rakk looked out at the wasteland and made out the outline of the hill they were supposed to climb. For a second, he thought he saw a robed figure watching from a dark spot on top.


	3. Chapter 3

The _Titan's Fury_ buckled hard as it entered an approach vector. The ice planet had a large supply of orbiting debris, a large disjointed system of rings and additional clutter flew all around the ship. The layers of rocks and cosmic junk were larger than usual. The planet seemed to sit right within an asteroid belt. The situation was also an _exceptional_ hazard for an approaching star ship.

_D'ast these rocks_ , Eros thought as he motioned to his captain that everything was okay.

The ship rumbled as it pounded into the small asteroid.

"Damn, Eros, watch those, I'd hate to lose my ship." Astro said.

On the bridge of the Nova flag ship, Eros peered into the stream of incoming data._ Perhaps these are the bones of a lot of good ships and men_, Eros of Titan wondered as he sifted through scans of the debris field.

"Still nothing." Bradley reported.

"I don't like it, we should have seen something. The trail is still good." Eros noted as he worked at his terminal.

"Your sure it was not just a mine?" Astrovik asked."This planet looks like an iceball."

Eros tapped away on his terminal and holographic heads up display. He shook his head. "Nah, look at this here." he pointed to a visual display with a bouncing line."Neutron and non ambient rads discharge sector 53 of the planet.."

"External in origin?" Vance asked. "Weapons discharge?"

"Yeah, Vance, looks like it. A firefight. Some small levels of Nova force." Bradley said.

Vance looked at Eros.

"How far down?" Vance asked."no life signs?"

Eros kept working at his HUD. The Titan cycled through screen after screen of data and scanner results. He shook his head.

"The atmosphere is brutal. High content of cosmic debris, jamming our sensors. I'm not reading much down there. Its all ghosts. I don't think we'd get much of any readings from space here." He said as he typed away.

"Probably what makes it a good place for a boobie trap." Bradley responded.

"Just keep the stealth drive on Bradley and keep your eyes peeled for any batteries." Astro ordered.

Eros' HUD blinked. An area on the planet was isolated and enlarged.

"There it is again. X marks the spot." Eros said as he looked at the data."I've got a grid coordinate now,"

Astrovik reviewed the image as he leaned over Eros shoulder.

"Tell Crystar to get his boys in the load bay, ready for recovery. We land in five minutes." Astro said.


	4. Chapter 4

Corpsmen Vruk looked through the sniper rifle into the distant dune of snow. Over the wind blown snow caps of the distant foothills, he could see the armed Chitauri caravan fan out across the surface of the snow planet.

There were dozens of them.

All around, Vruk, the wind swirled in huge plumes of snow. The snow churned in torrents as the night sound was like a star ship engine screaming in an ear.

"Damn" Vruk said as he looked through the scope of his rifle. The Corpsmen's voice was drowned out against the roar of the wind, but his Nova helmet relayed the communication across an internal encrypted network. Corpsmen Rakk pushed himself up the side of the cliff heaved himself onto Vruk's level. Rakk gave Vruk a tired look as Vruk nodded his head and pointed towards the Chitauri party. An icon in Rakk's helmet HUD blinked (enemy ahead).

Rakk picked up his binoculars as he flopped down in the snow next to Vruk. Rakk twisted a small reticle on the side of the hand held binoculars and brought his view into focus.

The Chitauri troopers funneled over the distant snow hills in a V shaped formation. Next to them, dozens of troops darted around the snow. The dark figures pointed and moved about. They were heavily armed. Rakk saw the small Skimmer in the back. A green skinned figure was bundled in the back looking through binoculars of his own. He looked cold and angry. A Badoon. Bishop had been right. There was a hunting party. And it was on the scent of Nova Corpsmen.

Vruk tapped him on his back as he picked up the sniper rifle."Come on" Vruk said. "Let's get the hell out of here."

Rakk nodded and followed behind.

Rakk put his hand in the snow and dropped down a few meters. He paused for a moment and looked up the length of the Canyon as it stretched toward distant hill. _It was still such a long way, _he thought. Vruk kicked him to keep moving.

Rakk bounded down the rocky edge and dropped several feet down. A few chunks of snow and ice broke off and spilled on his head as he slid down a few more feet into the crevice. Rakk turned back up the cliff and reached for Vruk's rifle. As he grabbed the barrel, Vruk made the slide down the chute safely.

A few more repetitions of this maneuver later, and both the Corpsmen had scaled down the rocky wall of the canyon.

The air was nice and stale down here. There was shelter here from the brutal wind.

The survivors were waiting for them at the bottom.

A dozen or so Nova Corpsmen were spread out in a defensive position at the bottom of the narrow chasm . It was only a few meters across the span here at the bottom. A small frozen stream cracked under Rakk's feet.

Bishop looked at Vruk. "What are we looking at?"

"Two dozen I'd say , most on foot" Vruk said to Bishop." I saw at least two skimmer's, Bish. They were the older Chitauri ones. One had a cannon and the other was a recon model."

Bishop kicked a stone. "How far?" he asked "Any flyers?"

"Two miles, a few hundred meters past the wreck." Vruk said.

"I didn't see anybody in the air." Rakk added.

"Yeah, no flyers." Vruk added.

"Well that's a damn small miracle." Bishop said" Next thing you know , Santa and his elves will show up and pass out presents."

Bishop took a knee. he spit out a huge lougie of dark tobacco juice on the floor of the chasm.

"When night falls that temperature is gonna drop. We'll be ok in here as long as we keep moving. I'm just worried." Bishop remarked.

"What about?" said Larkin.

"They don't seem to be on our tracks" Vruk said to Bishop.

"Well if they come for this chasm to get out of the elements they _will_ be on us. Count on it. Our sign hasn't been blown off by the wind here." Bishop said. "They seem like they are on us with some sort of tech anyways. Maybe they got sensors around here. Keep your eyes peeled."

Bishop tapped his finger on the side of his Nova helm. " But no flyers, huh? That IS good news. Hopefully, our luck keeps up."

He motioned for everyone to pick it up and move out.

A few minutes later, the tired group of Nova Corps survivors from the_ Simon Williams_ kept on their march to the distant hill.


	5. Chapter 5

Bishop pulled up next to Rakk as they all perched on the sloping edge to the chasm. Behind the men was the large mountain with a series of caves and rocky nooks on top. They stood in its shadow now.

The Nova Corpsmen had been hiking for hours. The Chitauri were still on them, they were closer now, just beyond the far hills. The Corpsmen had taken defensive positions along the base of the mountain before attempting the ascent up the hill. It was going to be a hard climb.

"There it is kid, our primo piece of real estate." Bishop said as he chewed on some tobacco. "We gotta get up 'er, quick" He added.

Rakk was tired and scared. They had been marching for hours without a break.

Bishop spit some black chaw on the ground. He pointed to the other formations to the east, small squat mud flats covered with icy crevices and gorges.

"Watch those slits over there to the east" He said." The bad guys are gonna' poke out from there in a couple minutes, kid. Damn it" Bishop said. " I was hoping we could get up that hill before we got hit."

"Why even try, sir? We could hit this canyon and take it farther. Just keep running. We could make good time down there." Rakk said.

"Nah, with those skidders they would just flank." He said." It would be like fish in a barrel. We need to get an angle on them up there. " Bishop pointed up to the caves at the top of the mountain. "The hill is a good place kid. Its a good plan. As fancy as shit gets with war, nothing ever compares to men owning the high ground. Cover concealment , fields of fire. That's what a hill can give you."

"It's just so far up, sir. I don't think we can all make it." Rakk said.

"It's a pain in the ass, I know. That's why it's important. _That's why its got power_. Those Chitauri will think the same thing when they are trying to get up there. It will break 'em. A hill gives you an advantage in somebody's head too." he added. "Especially, if they're weak."

Rakk was silent as he thought about what Bishop said. Bishop looked at Rakk and could tell he needed more words.

"I got a quick story for you Corpsmen, before all the fun starts." He said as he spit again.

"I was there on Titan, _before the counter attack._ The big battle to save mankind, and I was there." Bishop said.

"That was a huge battle, sir, I thought they were saying PC was the big battle to save us all." Rakk said as he scanned the line.

"Yeah, well it _was_ a big one, kid. Then there was PC. Shit, we missed that party looks like." He laughed as he kicked around the snow." I ain't trying to impress you with this shit though, that wasn't my game." He said. "But your right, there's always a bigger one waiting in the wings when your in a war." He said."..but I learned something important back on Titan, kid."

"What was that, Bishop?" Rakk asked.

"It was a nightmare kid. So much on the line. Dead bodies everywhere. Nobody to help humanity, save a few Inhumans and a damn Mad Titan _supervillain_. We were doomed. It was the Nova Corps final hour, so they said." Bishop added.

"I came in a couple years ago." Rakk said. "I was only ten when it happened." Rakk said.

"Let me tell you kid, it was something else." Bishop motioned with his hands to the clouds." 10,000 Nova corps flyers in the air swooping around blasting Badoon out of the sky. The Guardians and Avengers were there. It was the greatest march of the Corps.. ever. Everybody came out for one last death twitch. A lot of people died."

"But we won?" Rakk asked.

"Yep, I guess you could call it that. I never did." He replied. "I was just a corpsmen then... infantry , same as now. .. probably all I'll ever be, kid. Seventh Nova Corps Infantry brigade, our commander was Legate Morrow. He was a damn good Nova, we could use him now." He said." Anyways, I watched those flyers and Nova ships all as they zipped around the sky. I thought they were pretty cool too. Everybody always wanted to be a flyer and cruise space with Nova Prime."

Bishop picked up Rakk's binoculars and scanned the mouth of the far off crevice.

"On Titan, our platoon of worthless grunts got the usual flarked assignment; take up an armed position on a small meaningless hill, just outside the Silent City. Dig in and sit tight while the real heroes did all the work over our heads. We all pissed and moaned. The hill didn't _even have a name_. All we had were blasters and suits. No fancy jet packs or Nova force in our body. Nobody flew around ta' get up that thing either, we walked up that damn high ground and sweat our butts off. The whole deal sucked, but we put our heads down and did what we needed to do." He added "With all that jazz going on in the sky, we were just men on a hill."

Bishop looked down into the snow and paused a second before he went on.

"But, we all know how Titan went , kid. When the flyers were all dead, and the Badoon onslaught kept flarking coming, I tell you, it was us Novas on the hills around the Silent City that kept the fight alive. The Badoon couldn't touch us. We were dug in so well. Stubborn snake bastards just kept coming. We put them down, all of 'em. They kept losing men every time they attacked. They couldn't touch the Silent City, kid. _It was because of us_..and we sent them packin'." Bishop said as he broke a smile. "..and it was the _hill_ that saved us. _It was men on a hill that saved Titan_. I'll never forget what I learned there that day." He looked at Rakk directly without blinking. "Never forget kid, no matter how long we live, a hill is power in combat. Empires and lives have been saved or lost over a god damn worthless pitch. A hill." He said. "No matter how you see that fact, its _goddamn real_." Bishop went on, he picked at his weapon and checked the action.

"Those flyers and those navy guys will never get it. They'll never understand. When you're a grunt kiddo, your life ain't worth nothing more than a hill..._and that's OK_. I'm at peace with it. Especially after Titan." He chuckled."I've lost a lot of people I love since this war started, kid, same as everybody, but give me a battalion of Corpsmen who understand what a hill _means_ and we'll win this D'ast war."

Rakk nodded.

Bishop looked close at Rakk,he could see the kid was scared. He was shaking and shivering as he held his rifle. Rakk wasn't much older than 18. Bishop knew this was one of his first times fighting on the ground.

"Listen, Kid, I know your scared." Bishop said. "Is this your first planetside action? I knew you came in with us a few months back. Bailing on the _Williams_ was rough. That was some serious shit. Even I never been on a bird when it got hit like that."

"I'm ok , sir. You don't have to worry about me." Rakk replied on the defense.

"I ain't worried , kid. I ain't. _Just keep you shit straight and you won't get caught short_. Words to live by. Morrow taught me that quote. The real truth is we are all out here for me and you. Your man to your right and left. That's it, kid , pretty simple. When I'm out here, that's the real secret. _We fight for each other kid_, and we all need each other. If your shit ain't straight, mine isn't either."

"Jesus sir, even Larkin? He's a cancer." Rakk said.

"Yeah, even him man. When the shit picks up, we need everybody." he said. "Oh, and kid, let me tell you something.."

"What's that, sir?" Rakk asked.

"_Everybody_ out here is scared as hell." He said as he walked off. "Keep your shit straight, don't get caught short."

"Sir, one more thing?" Rakk asked.

"Shoot, kid." Bishop replied.

"What happened to Legate Morrow?" Rakk asked.

Bishop looked down and cleared his throat. "Dead kid. He died on that hill on Titan that day. Badoon shot him right in the face."

Rakk was silent.

Bishop spit up on the snow and looked out at the distant mouth of the crevice. There was a slight rumble in the air as Bishop looked quickly at Rakk, slung his rifle and ran off to the next position.

The rumble got louder.

Bishop went into over drive barking orders.

"Get on that damn Mandroid cannon, Hurlburt...here they come!"

In the distance, Rakk could make out the outline of dark figures as they streamed out of the crevice.


	6. Chapter 6

Centurion Crystar stepped on the broken Chitauri rifle as he left the compound. Two dead Chitauri troopers were piled up in the corner.

Outside, Denarion Redhawk and Centurion Luck pulled security around the ice covered building. The roof was covered with massive icicles. The snow was falling heavy, but the wind was manageable. The clumps of snow were large and filled with water. It was a "peaceful" snowstorm now. The air was a few degrees above zero, a warm day for this remote ice world.

Corpsmen Aurora met Crystar at the door as the large metal gate swung open. The door flew around the side and slammed the wall.

Behind the building, a massive Pulson Cannon was aimed at the sky. The wind whipped around the gun as snow piled up on it.

_So this was what Astrovik had called an inter stellar "boobie trap"_, Crystar wondered as he eyed the canon.

"We got the last of the charges in place, but there's nobody else here. Just those two cold bastards we blasted on the way in." Aurora reported.

"Good." Crystar said as he scanned the perimeter. "Radio the_ Fury_ to come pick us up and we'll blow it. Astro's working the garage and the mainframe, maybe he'll pull something out." Crystar said. "It stinks down there something bad."

"Lucky we took this place out." Aurora said. "That cannon would have smoked some of the cargo frigates coming this way to PC."

Crystar looked at Aurora. "Well, the damn _Simon Williams_ wasn't too D'ast lucky and that's what counts now. We ain't leavin' anyone behind."

"Sorry , sir, i didn't mean it.." Aurora said.

"No sweat Aurora, I know that." he said. "Now move out."

Vance Astro emerged from the back with Captain America's shield on his back. He held a huge shotgun at the ready as he approached Centurion Crystar. "Two skidders missing from the garage and I got coordinates from the computer. There's Badoon gear in there as well." He said to Crystar. "Barracks look like a few dozen troops were held up here. Maybe a hundred"

"Where the hell is everybody then?" Redhawk asked.

Astro shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, looks like we got more work to do." Crystar quipped to Aurora.

Astro looked into his data pad.

"Forty clicks north west of here. This hill here," He said as he pointed to the location on the map to Crystar.

It was an unmistakable hill, near a larger ridge line of tall mountains and a long winding chasm that cut through the valley.

Crystar looked at Luck and Redhawk.

_The Titan's Fury_ rounded a near mountain and approached the compound. The bay doors of the ship swung open as Centurion Bradley appeared rigged in to the door. He waved the team to approach as the ship touched down and hovered a few feet above the ice.

"Let's go!" Crystar said as they hustled to the ship.


	7. Chapter 7

_I don't flarking belong here_, Corpsmen Rakk said as he tripped over the clump of ice. Corpsmen Vruk and Bishop screamed at him to keep up.

Chitauri tracer rounds flashed all around Rakk as he sprinted for cover.

The bang rang out and sent everybody to the ground. A wall of laser fire came next.

Rakk lifted up his head from the snow. He looked down the hill at the shifting mass of enemies below.

"Shit, Bish, their everywhere!" Larkin said as he looked back. "Were dead!"

Rakk just ducked down and grabbed as much cover as he could. Another salvo of fire came at the group.

Grice looked back at Larkin with a glare in his eye. "Hunter killer team my ass! " Grice shouted.

Through the cut, stacks of dark figures bounded up while others screeched orders in Chitauri. Behind them, dozens of Chitauri troopers oozed from the icy chasm. They all had blood in their shadowy eyes.

Rounds from the Mandroid rattled off to the throng of Chitauri. Hurlburt was behind the suit now, and he was good.

As chaos was everywhere, Bishop kept his cool and held the line.

"Keep the damn Mandorid up and running! No matter what." Bishop screamed as he unloaded his rifle into the dark. "Get ready to bound up the hill again!"

The laser rounds came in like a flash hail storm. Bodies flopped everywhere in the snow as packs bounced off the ground. Clumps of sharp ice smashed all around the corpsmen. High velocity rounds clicked all around as they flew in. "Lark, prep a Bangalore ASAP!" Bishop yelled.

Fortunate for the Nova corpsmen, the group had reached a point where they were in a natural depression. The spot provided decent cover, but not much else. Behind them, the small mountain stretched up into the swirling wind.

Larkin looked at Rakk. "Can you help me? I don't know how to do the torpedo." Rakk flopped down on the ground and was into Larkin's pack. He pulled out the plastic tube with blue seals on the ends. A nuclear symbol and Nova emblem was marked on the body of the pod. Rakk ripped of a tab at the end as the cylinder fizzled. He handed it to Larkin. "See? she's all set to go" He said with a smile. Larkin nodded as his shaking hand grabbed the tube. "Thank you, Rakk." he said as he took the tube.

The laser fire and bullets clipped everywhere around. The snow sizzled as the blasts melted the ice.

"We need to get further up this hill if we want to live." Bishop shouted to Larkin.

"Ok, sounds good, you lead the way?" Larkin said.

Rakk didn't have time to roll his eyes.

Rakk popped his head up and blasted into the shadows. Next to him, Denarion Ja'al took a shot to the chest. Rakk looked in terror as the round lodged in her breast plate and burned. She slumped over as the flames spewed from her body. Her collar was smoking as she began to twitch. She did not scream as her upper body caught on fire and she slumped over.

"Jal's down!" Grice screamed as he went to her aid.

Rakk switched his target and blasted at whatever Bishop was shooting. Rakk saw the shadows of figures in the ice fields next to them. Rakk's blaster rifle started to smoke as he cycled round after round toward the shadows. _Those snake bastards! He screamed in his head._

Denarion Grice and Hurlburt were tending to Ja'al and put out the small fire on her body. Blood and charred skin were all over the snow. Grice looked back at Larkin. "She's gone".

A volley of fresh laser fire sent the Mandroid off its feet. Hurlburt clawed at the ice to keep the thing mobile. But it had weak hands, and the thing slid over a bank out of view. The Chitauri poured on the arms fire with the main gun down. Someone yelled out "Mandroid down!".

Bishop grabbed the prepped Bangalore charge from Larkin. "I'll take that corpsmen!" He said with a smile. Bishop looked down at the line of enemy troops.

Rakk kept shooting. _There were so many! What were they doing here?_ Rakk wondered.

"Fire in the Hole!" Bishop shouted as he threw the Irridium Bangalore over his head toward the dark mass of Chitauri.

Rakk dove for cover down in the ground. He could feel the shock-wave before he heard the bang. The earth shook and everything jumped. Ice cracked and fell behind them. Rakk felt like his brains were shook like Jell-O inside his Nova Corps helmet_. I don't belong here, I'm not good enough_, he thought as he smelled the smoking ground.

The Mandroid popped over the edge of the icy abyss. It raked the ground with its arms, digging deep into the ice. With a few jabs it had pulled itself up and jumped up to its feet.

"Glad to see you again." Bishop smiled.

"I got lost on the way, went for some coffee." Hurlburt said.

For what seemed like a full thirty seconds, there was a dead silence on the side of the mountain. Rakk could not even hear the Chitauri below.

Then...the sound of _thunder._

Rakk could see Vruk's face as he looked around...at the hill. _Why was he so worried?_

_The damn Hill, _Rakk thought._ What else did this Mother fucker have in store for us?_

Rakk could see the bloody face of Hurlburt inside the Mandroid. He winked at Rakk.

In the reflection in the Mandorid's glass visor, Rakk could see the wall of snow and ice as the laser fire danced all around.

"Shit." Rakk heard Bishop say.

Rakk wheeled around and looked up the hill. _Shit,_ he said to himself.

"Take COVER!" Rakk screamed as loud as he could. Rakk grabbed Bishop and threw him down into the snow. They buried themselves into the small rock formation.

"AVALANCHE!" rang out in the Nova Corps comm link.

The Mandroid fell down over Rakk and Bishop. The sound was deafening.

The ground shook like an explosion worse than any irridium bangalore. A tornado of snow followed. The sound of flying ice and debris whipped all around the group as the white sea of snow danced all around.

It was like the _Simon Williams_ all over again.

Rakk only had time to see the Chitauri attackers point and run backwards like cockroaches exposed to the light .

He could see the look of fear in their eyes as everything went _white._


	8. Chapter 8

As the Mandroid scooped itself out of the snow. Bishop and Rakk came up underneath. The big machine had made a nice pocket in the ice. It had saved both Corpsmen's lives.

"D'ast that was a rough tumble." Bishop said as he dusted off Rakk.

It was day again, the sun was bright and there was a break in the clouds.

The avalanche had buried most of the spot where the Nova Corpsmen took cover , hours ago.

_Jesus Christ, what's next?_, Rakk wondered as he looked down at the devastation.

When it was all settled, no one could find Grice. His signature had gone blank in everyone's Nova uplink. We looked for a few minutes, but had no time to spare. He was probably dead and buried under a ton of snow. To lose only one corpsmen from the Avalanche was a small miracle.

As Rakk kicked through the snow and dug out Vruk, sporadic laser fire resumed from the base of the hill.

"Let's get moving." Bishop said.

The Nova Corpsmen continued to bound up the hill. One group covered while the other group moved. It was standard "bounding over-watch" up a steep pitch. Not fun. After a couple of hours, with no Chitauri clearly following, they switched to a standard wedge. The movement was hell. Rakk could see the damn caves he was marching toward every time he looked up. Every step was like a nightmare. His back and bones ached. His quad muscles felt like they were going to explode with every step.

Every now and then, Larkin threw a temper tantrum and someone had to calm him down. They took turns carrying him when he got bad. Larkin had no pride, he would just sniffle as he got picked up and thrown on Rakk's back.

_Thank god for the Mandroid_, Rakk thought.

At last they came up to the first set of caves. Up on the top, the hill leveled off into a small vale. The wind and snow swept furious gusts in the open air. The whole valley was open here. The snaking canyon below, a towering mountainous ridge line off to the west. Rakk could barely even see the remains of the Nova ship wreck off in the distance.

The Chitauri were slow to recover. The avalanche had let the Nova Corps make the final push up the hill.

As the squad filed into the cave, Bishop set up the patrol base.

The wind died and the cave was quiet. Rakk could hear the crunching of the snow as everyone took up spots to pull security down the hill. _We were so high up now_, Rakk thought as he looked down.

Rakk bent over, exhausted and out of breath. He looked over at Bishop and Vruk who didn't even look tired. Hurlburt in the Mandroid armor rumbled to a stop next to him. The joints hissed with hydraulics as it winded to a stop. The large suit's arm locked in down the path.

"This is it, we're going to set up here." Bishop said as he slammed his rifle butt into the ice.

"What about that further cave, up at the top?" Larkin asked.

"That's our fall back point..when all else fails. It's our damn _Alamo,_ up there." Bishop said. Vruk nodded.

"I don't see the point of that." Larkin said. "Shouldn't we just skip to the best position?"

"You gotta have something else up your sleeve. You always gotta hold back one last trick." Bishop said.

"If the Mandroid goes down, we fall back to the last cave. " Bishop said.

"Hurlburt." Bishop said." Try to get the comm signal out for the distress call."


	9. Chapter 9

_The Titan's Fury_ pushed up the chasm and scanned for signs of life.

Red lights popped on the HUD of Centurion Bradley.

"Damn, I am getting a distress signal in this area." Elijah Bradley said as he looked at the incoming alert.

"D'ast you got to be kidding me!" Astro said.

"Nope," Eros said." This damn planet is a nightmare for radio signal."

"I think it's a Mandroid type link." Bradley remarked.

The terminal beeped as the ship skimmed over the sea of ice and snow.

"We also have contact to the front. " Eros said as he scanned the terminal.

The scanners on the _Fury_ put up the display of enemy readings. Nine Chitauri troops and a broken down skidder were rolling across the icy plane.

Aboard the _Fury_, The wind screamed across the open drop door in the belly of the ship. Centurion Crystar waited ,rigged into the bay door. Crystar pushed up the side of the ship and checked the gear of his squad. In line for a drop, the _Madslashers _stood ready to be deployed with guns loaded.

"Put us down near that hill." Crystar said. " It's a good spot."


	10. Chapter 10

Rakk's heart pounded with energy. His legs burned as he took huge strides up the snow covered hillside. As he put all his energy into the final dash, his feet sank into deep snow. The cave was just ahead of him now. Without snow shoes, walking up the hill with all his gear was exhausting. Rakk felt like he wanted to slump over and quit. The crack of bullets at his feet and laser fire all around kept him on the move.

"Wait for me!" The voice said behind Rakk.

Centurion Larkin buckled over in the snow. It was just the two of them now. Everyone else was dead.

"Whats the matter, sir? We gotta keep moving." Rakk said as he tripped again in the snow. He looked at Larkin. Rakk knew the Navy officer had taken a good hit to the stomach. Larkin was holding his gut and slouched over in pain. He could barely grip the blaster in his hand.

"It's no use! We're all dead. I can't make it. My legs are so tired.." Larkin cried as he mumbled.

Rakk tried not think of when he had seen Bishop hit in the eye with a solid shot, or when Hurlburt in the Mandriod had been hit with the rocket and exploded.

Corpsmen Bryce Rakk didn't even want to think much about how he himself had taken a nice laser blast to the kidney. Every step felt like he was being stabbed with an ice pick. Instead, Rakk tried to think more about how they had just killed dozens of Chitauri as they tried to follow the Corpsmen up the hill.

Bishop had been right the whole time. The hill was worth it.

Rakk grabbed Larkin by the collar. He hit his stim booster and felt the rush of adrenaline and strength. He threw Larkin over his shoulder as the lasers skimmed his shins.

"What the hell are you doing?" Larkin asked.

Larkin's blood was dripping all over Rakk. His Nova uniform was covered with the deep red liquid.

"I'm getting our asses up this flarkin hill, sir." Rakk said without hesitation. "We still got our god damn _Alamo_, sir."

Rakk felt the surge from his stim. His muscles in his quadriceps swelled as he pushed up the hill. His rifle dangled at his side. Larkin was on his back. Larkin mumbled and groaned as he pushed through the snow.

At last Rakk, made the clump of rocks. He threw Larkin in the bank and aimed his rifle down the hill at the line of enemy troops.

His arms felt like they were going to fall off. The pain was searing through his back. He jammed the morphine button on the inner portion of his chest carapace. Nothing happened. His doses were all used. _D'ast._

Larkin was only mumbling now. He waved his hand and patted Rakk on the forearm as he dragged him through the snow and ice.

The laser fire was only sporadic now. Every few seconds, a blast would whistle over Rakk's head. In turn, Rakk wheeled around and cracked off a few shots at the blurry bodies below.

_How many of these god damn assholes did I need to kill?_ Rakk wondered as he scanned the rocks below.

Rakk grit his teeth as he felt the pain in his side. He saw the rocky cave ahead. _The Alamo_. Just a few more meters, he said to himself. The pain shot through his nerves. His whole side felt like strings of razor wire were embedded in his muscles and wanted to rip out of his skin. Movement was agony. Larkin's two hundred pounds didn't help.

Larkin tilted back his head. His heart felt like it would explode. Larkin's vitals were still active on Rakk's Nova helmet's HUD. It was the only life sign left. Larkin was still twitching and mumbling in his arms.

Rakk fell behind the last wall of rock into the final cave. This was the top of the hill. The whole valley was below.

This was the end. _Just like Bishop said, this was the Alamo._

Rakk had no clue what the hell the "Alamo" was_._

Rakk gave one last exhausted heave over a rock and fell down on the icy floor of the cavern. He threw Larkin down into the soft snow in the middle of the room. There was no laser fire now. He only heard the gentle mumbling of Centurion Larkin and the soft howling of the wind through the gorge. Rakk's suit was compromised. Even though the cave was out of the wind, the cold snuck in Rakk's suit and stabbed his throbbing wound.

He found a good spot and looked down back at the lower caves. He cleaned off the dirt and ice on the scope of his rifle and scanned the trail. No Chitauri followed.

Rakk looked up, icy snow covered the stalactites at the rim of the cave. Sheets of crystal clear ice hung over the rock in raised dabs. The rock looked like it was made of glass as it sparkled in the pulsing sunlight of the new day. The cave had a magical aura.

"It's a special place you know." Larkin said.

Rakk was surprised he still could talk, but he didn't answer him. Rakk's chest pounded with exhaustion. The side effects of the morphine stim kicked in. He looked up in the air as his body tingled.

"How is it special, Sir?" Rakk asked.

Larkin looked at him. His eyes looked scared and at peace all at once. Larkin did not answer. His lungs throbbed up and down. He looked at the Crystal walls of the cavern as his chest plate rose and fell rapidly. Larkin cracked a strange smile and coughed some more. Blood sprinkled on the inside of his helmet and all over his chest.

There was no point pulling security now, Rakk thought to himself. He gathered up Larkin and held him as he coughed. Rakk set his battle rifle down and pulled Larkin's hand gun from his holster. He aimed the blaster at the mouth of the cave's entrance and looked through the sites. The pistol had enough juice for three more shots.

Larkin coughed violently and mumbled some more.

Rakk could see Larkin bled inside his helmet now. There was a dark ring around the suit's seams on the neck. The bleeding inside Larkin's body was probably worse. The seals on his suit had long been broken. He must have been freezing cold. The cold did not help the shock much. Rakk looked down at the red stain on his own side and pressed Larkin harder against his own wound. He reached down with his hand and squeezed Larkin's morphine tab. It too, had spent all its doses. _Hopefully he's feeling it, _Rakk said to himself.

"I liked you Rakk." Larkin said as he started twitching more."You did good today, Nova. Thank you."

Rakk reached his arm around Bishop and squeezed him gently. He touched his helmet to the back of his as he struggled to stay awake. _I did good today_, Rakk said to himself.

Larkin mumbled, "I had some coins here somewhere..I was going to give you a _coin_. A _Simon Williams_ coin. We give them to everybody who does a good job..."

Rakk was lost in thought. He thought about what Bishop said to him.

_You fight for the man next to you_. Bishop's words rang in Rakk's head. It was Larkin who was next to him now. Everyone else was dead. Rakk looked at the pistol in his hand. It was a Kree Nega-blaster, an officer's weapon, a show piece. The weapon was vintage Kree-Skrull war.

Larkin heaved. His breath got suddenly more erratic. Larkin's body twitched hard as Rakk held him tight. The wind howled outside the cave. Rakk could not hear his breath any more. Inside his helmet, Larkin's vitals disappeared and faded down to zero.

Larkin let off a gurgle as the blood in his lungs spilled onto the snow. His body went limp. Rakk held his dead body in his arms. He squeezed him tight. _Just me now_, Rakk thought.

Rakk couldn't feel much in his legs now. The sun still pulsed through the ice. His head pounded.

Rakk began to smell odd things. He could sense the smell of summer. Of warm grass and a camp fire. There were steaks roasting on an open spit and his father sat by the fire with a red and black checkered wool shirt. He had a can of beer in his hand and was shucking corn by the fire. The tobacco from his father's pipe smelled like sweet apples and whiskey. _Its home_, Rakk thought.

Rakk could hear the crunching of snow. He held Larkin tight_. _

He heard Bishop in his head again.

_"..ain't worth nothing more than a hill, Kid ...and that's Okay.."_

Rakk saw the crystal waters of the mountain lake. He dipped his toes into the still water.

_The water was just right_. He touched his hand to the surface of the lake and felt the ripple of the cool liquid through his skin. _Was that a loon call in the distance?_ You could see the blue fish as they swam near the rocks at the bottom. There was a smell of cooking meat. Rakk could see his dad hold a stick in the fire as he roasted something by the grill.

The crunch of snow got louder. _Did it get darker?_

In the blinking sunlight of the Cave, Rakk saw the outline of a figure. He felt so dizzy now. His head spun.


	11. Chapter 11

Redhawk and Luck looked down at the two Nova Corpsmen. They were both dead. Icicles ran down the edge of both their faces and helmets.

One of the Corpsmen held the Centurion in his arms. A lone blaster sat near his side, melted into the ice.

"Damn. " Redhawk said as he looked down at the two bodies. "I was hoping they would have been a few survivors up here."

"I wonder what happened. What the hell was there story?" Luck asked. "There's a hundred and twenty dead Chitauri down there in the ice. I mean, jesus."

Centurion Crystar straggled up the hill. Corpsmen Razo was not far behind.

"Well, not much else here." Cystar said as he crested over the last notch.

"Astro and the Fox are on the twelve Chitauri who surrendered down there in canyon. They say they been held up in a broken skidder for days now. They were half frozen. Didnt fight much." He said. "What have we got here?"

"A few dead Corpsmen down by the last cave another four by the ship." Luck said. said.

"Any Nova survivors up here?" Crystar asked.

Redhawk turned to Crystar. "No, just these two, " Redhawk said as he looked back "They didn't make it,"

Crystar looked at the bodies. They had already started turn blue in the cold of the cave."If only we could have made it here a few days ago." Crystar said.

Redhawk and Luck looked at the two bodies and couldn't say a word.

"Hey look at this!" Razo said as she pointed over near the mouth of the cave.


	12. Chapter 12

Rakk opened his eyes. _Had I been sleeping?_

The cave smelled like a dirty reptile now. Filth.

As Rakk's eyes came in to focus , he saw the shape.

The large Badoon stood over him.

He was at least eight feet tall. The figure stood on Rakk's rifle.

As he held him, Larkin's body was so cold now.

The giant Badoon was slurped something at Rakk in his damn Badoon tongue. It sounded like an angry hornpout as you pulled it from the water.

Rakk still had Larkin's blaster in his hand. He tried to squeeze the handle but his hands were so cold. He gripped Larkin so tight with the other arm_. It was tough to feel my fingers,_ Rakk thought as he looked at the Badoon. _I need to warm them by the fire._

Rakk did not know what the Lizard looked like. His eyes were failing him. All he could see was the fire by the Lake. _Those Flarking assholes all look the same, _he thought. Rakk thought the lizard may have smiled as he coughed. _Did the D'ast thing just spit? Did it say something to me?_

Rakk could tell it lifted something above its head. _There was not much time_, Rakk thought. The lake was waiting. His dad had already built up a nice bonfire. He could not think straight anymore. _I have to lift my arm._

As Rakk raised his arm to blast the damn lizard, the pain spiked through every nerve in his body. He grit his teeth and aimed in on the blaster.

The Badoon looked surprised_. _

_Rakk smiled as he made out the snake swear something vile in Badoon._

_The Alamo, Rakk thought._

_As he squeezed the trigger, Rakk felt the warmth of the fire as his dad handed him a drink.._


	13. Chapter 13

Razo ran over to the mound of crumpled over green in the corner of the cave.

It was a dead Badoon. An Officer.

The reptile was slumped over, frozen to the rocks. A dried blaster hole was iced over with crystals in between the his eyes. The warrior gripped a Badoon hyper spear in its dead and frozen hands. It had a surprised look on its face.

"Why didn't they take this body?" Razo asked.

"They got scared, looks like, this is a pretty good spot." Redhawk said. "I guess they figured it wasn't worth it."

"They had the high ground. its why there are a hundred something dead Chitauri and only seven corpsmen." Luck said.

"You can ask 'em when you see the rest of them. on _The Fury_." Crystar said.

"Do you know what that means?" Crystar asked the Corpsmen.

For a moment no one spoke, then Razo sounded off.

"It means we're better than them." She said. "We never leave a Nova behind. They do." Razo said as she crossed her arms , sure of her answer.

"No" Crystar said straight faced as he knelled by the joined bodies of the two Novas. He lifted his finger and touched the shoulder of dead Nova Corpsman. It was Bryce Rakk.

Crystar looked at Razo and the squad with a stern glare in his eye. "That shit doesn't matter"

Crystar picked up the frozen blaster and looked through the action.

"It means no damn Chitauri or snakes took this D'ast hill." Crystar said as he spit on the ground.

The Nova Corpsmen were silent for a moment as they all looked on the two embraced bodies of the frozen Nova Corpsmen.

_As he looked on, James Luck felt a soft voice in his head say "y__ou fight for the man next to you."_

Outside the Cave, Corpsmen Aurora planted the Nova flag in the icy snow.

In the heavy wind of the nameless ice planet in the Kra'Karn System, the flag rippled loud. Soon, over the flag and wind the _Madslashers_ heard the soft hum of the _Titan's Fury_'s engines as it approached the top of the hill..

**_"Those flyers and those navy guys will never get it. They'll never understand. When you're a grunt kiddo, your life ain't worth nothing more than a hill...and that's OK. I'm at peace with it. Especially after Titan." He chuckled."I've lost a lot of people I love since this war started, kid, same as everybody, but give me a battalion of Corpsmen who understand what a hill means and we'll win this D'ast war."_**

**_The End_**


End file.
